Duck blind



June 9, 1959 I T. SHERIDAN, JR 2,889,839

Ducx BLIND Filed Feb. 6. 1957 l N V EN T O R THO/V145 .1 55 59/04, we

DUCK BLIND Thomas I. Sheridan, Jr., Rye, N.Y.

Application February 6, 1957, Serial No. 638,641

2 Claims. (Cl. 135-6) This invention relates to a duck-blind, and more particularly to a mobile duck-blind adapted to be mounted on a boat.

More specifically my invention relates to a novel duckblind for a boat which serves also as a hood or cover for the boat.

It is known to duck hunters that great care must be taken to camouflage themselves before they can expect ducks to fly close to their positions. The camouflage contrivance is called a duck-blind.

There are duck-blinds which are adapted to be positioned on land, although perhaps portable, these units are known as shore duck-blinds. The problems attaching to shore duck-linds are somewhat different from those associated with heat or mobile duck-blinds and since this invention is concerned only with boat duck-blinds, prob lems peculiar thereto will be discussed hereinafter.

The problems which confront a designer of a boat duck-blind are many and diflicult, and perhaps for that reason there is no such blind known today which has met with wide commercial acceptance. For example, the primary purpose of the blind is to provide the necessary camouflage; therefore, the color of the blind must fitin with the surrounding water and shore line. The blind necessarily must conceal the boat and hunters, and should allow some convenience to hunters; that is, the hunters should have suflicient space to sit and move comfortably within practical limits. The space should also desirably accommodate the hunters dog and equipment. The blind must include a window or windows for the hunter to observe for Wildfowl and to permit him to move the boat from one location to another without dismantling the blind. Further, the blind should provide means for safeguarding against one hunter inadvertently training his gun at another hunter while tracking a bird. And, of course, one of the most significant problems is to incorporate these important features into a duck-blind which is simple to construct, light to carry and inexpensive to manufacture.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a duck-blind for a boat which incorporates all of the above mentioned features and which serves as a cover for the boat while the boat is in storage.

It is a feature of my invention to provide a blind which is simple to assemble and disassemble.

It is a further feature of my inventionto provide a blind which is easily adapted to most boats suitable for duck hunting, thereby obviating the necessity for a special hunting boat.

It is a further feature of this invention to provide a duck-blind which permits the hunter to fire directly overhead.

In accordance with an aspect of my invention, there is provided a device for camouflaging an open boat useful for hunting Wildfowl, comprising a canopy enclosing the open part of the boat, but providing sufficient space for ahunter to sit comfortably therein. A part of the canopy is detachably attached (zippered) from the adjoining por- 5 aten t tions and constitutes a flap extending from a side peripheral edge of the canopy to approximately the center thereof, whereby a hunter sitting in the boat may swing the flap up and over the opposite side of the canopy and be in a ready position for firing.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention will become apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a blind constructed in accord ance with my invention mounted on a boat;

Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective view of means for locking the blind to the boat;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the blind and boat with the fore and aft compartments of the blind open; and

Fig. 4 is a stern view of the boat and blind.

Referring first to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a side view of my novel duck-blind mounted on a boat 1 which is suitable for hunting.

The duck-blind comprises a canopy 2 made of a water repellent canvas, or preferably a light weight plastic. The canopy should be a dull color approaching that of water, for example, a dead grass color commonly known as duck brown or duck green.

The canopy 2 is maintained in the desired position relative to the boat 1 by means of semi-circular or inverted U-shaped struts 3, preferably made of a hollow tubular, light weight material such as aluminum. The struts 3 are preferably attached to the underside of the canopy, for example, by being positioned in pockets sewn along the opposite edges thereof, to the canopy; the stitches being shown by dotted line. As shown, four struts are utilized; one at the bow, one at the stern and two at the intermediate section of the boat.

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the struts 3 are locked to the boat by means such as oar lock receivers 4, U clamps or other suitable locking means, which are preferably screwed on the inside gunnel 5 of the boat 1. Two clamps are required for each strut.

The canopy 2 is shaped to extend over the outside gunnel of the boat on the sides and stem thereof (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) and is there attached by any suitable fastener means 6, such as swivel clasps mounted on the boat and complementary grommets affixed to the canopy along the peripheral edges thereof. Suflicient clasps are provided to prevent the canopy from flapping and thereby frightemng the Wildfowl away. The forward portion of the canopy extends down to the bow deck 7 and is similarly attached thereto.

As 'best seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the canopy is provided with detachably attachable means, preferably zippers, to open discrete portions of the canopy. The duck-blind or canopy may be considered as divided into four portions; a bow or forward portion 8 which may be opened and closed by zipper 9, a forward compartment 10, onehalf, e.g., the starboard half of which may be opened and closed by zippers 11, an aft compartment 12, the analogous half of which (starboard half) may be opened and closed by zippers 13, and a stem or rear portion 14 which may be opened and closed by zipper 15. The canopy joining the forward and aft compartments, shown at 16, and the struts 3 underlying that portion of the canopy serve a very important function which will be explained later.

Each compartment is adapted to accommodate comfortably only one hunter. While waiting for ducks to fly within shooting range the hunter opens and rolls up his compartment flap as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and fastens it in place by means of straps 17; each of the straps being attached to the underside of the flap andfastened over the rolled-up flap to the canopy by any suitable fastener means. The waiting hunter will sit in the shade of the closed half of the compartment, and his dog, stove and other gear will be placed behind the closed section 16 of the canopy to be concealed from the Wildfowl. tinuity of the adjacent-opensections inthe canopy,-th ereby improving the camouflage effect.

A particularly desirable feature of my invention-is that during bad weather (when hunting is usually best) the side flaps may be lowered but left unfastened. Thisprotects the boat from the elements. When Wildfowl are decoyed or come within range the flaps are easily and quickly swung up and back over the opposite side of the canopy by a thrust of the gunners hand, or his shot gun barrel, placing him in ready position to take an immediate shot at the duck.

For observation from within the canopy windows are provided preferably on both sides of each compartment, as shown at 18. The window is made preferably of a pliable transparent plastic, however it may also be made of a rigid plastic, in which event the flaps would be folded about the plastic window, rather than rolled. The windows are of sufiicient size to provide the hunters with the necessary azimuthal and elevational observation.

Referring now to the closed section 16 of the canopy and the underlying supporting struts 3in addition to the improved camouflaged efiect produced by section 16, as described hereinbefore, the two struts which are immovably locked to the inside gunnel of the boat constitute a safety guard which prevent one hunter from training his gun into the adjacent compartment. During the excitement of tracking a bird, it occasionally happens that a hunter moves his gun in the direction of his companion hunter. However, by discretely locating the two center struts 3, it would be impossible for a hunter shooting from his compartment to train his gun on the hunter in the adjacent compartment.

Another very important feature of my invention is the pliable top center line of the canopy; that is, the line parallel to the fore and aft axis of the boat, shown by dot and dash lines 19 in Fig. 3. This line represents the vertical limit to which the hunter may swing his gun. While tracking a bird, the hunter in reaching this limit has his gun brought to a gradual halt rather than an abrupt halt. If a hunters gun were stopped abruptly by inadvertently hitting a rigid barrier, he might fire his gun accidentally and thereby could possibly be thrown off balance. Further, if the boat is stably located as a result of mooring on marshy land, the hunter is able to stand easily in the center of the boat and fire in any direction.

To improve further the camouflage efiect of the duckblind, straps 20 and 21 are provided which extend completely around both sides, front and rear of the canopy as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The straps are sewn at suitable intervals so that the lengths of strap between the seams lie against the canopy. The hunter utilizes these intermediate lengths to hold foliage, twigs, brush, etc., collected from the surrounding area.

The facility of opening and closing the bow and stern portions of the canopy by means of the zippers 9 and 15 enables the hunter to load and unload his boat with considerable ease. The facility of opening and closing the stern or rear portion of the canopy enables the hunter to Withdraw an outboard motor from the water directly into the boat thereby eliminating all obstacles which might signal the Wildfowl of his presence.

Thus, it should now be apparent that my invention permits the ordinary out-board motor boat or row boat to be easily converted into a mobile duck-blind, and reconverted when desired. Further, if the boat is to be used primarily for hunting purposes, the blind may be retained on the boat and serve as a cover for hunting gear and other equipment which may be stored under the canopy. In this way the usually tedious and arduous Theclosed section .16 also breaks thecon job of gathering ones gear and arranging the gear in the boat preparatory to hunting is minimized.

While the hunter is hunting, if the weather is inclement, he is comfortably situated under the canopy and with the side flaps unzippered he is ready to shoot on a moments notice. The boat and hunter are well camouflaged, first, by the construction andcolor of the canopy, and secondly, by the brush and foliage on the canopy. Even such objects as the motor are concealed simply and easily by placing them in the boat through an opening made possible by the judicious location of the zippers. Moreover, the hunters in the boat enjoy a sense of security knowing that one hunter can not possibly train his gun in the direction of the other because of the discrete location of the two centrally located struts.

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanyingjclaims.

What I claim is:

1. A device for camouflaging an open boat useful for hunting Wildfowl, comprising a canopy for enclosing the open part of the boat having forward and rear portions shaped to extend respectively over the bow and stem sections of the boat and in an intermediate portion shaped to extend over the sides of the boat, a plurality of struts in the shape of an inverted U for supporting said canopy in overlying relation to the seating area of the boat and providing suificient space for a hunter to sit therein, means adapted to be attached to the boat for rigidly securing said struts at their ends thereof, said struts and securing means being located at the bow, stern and intermediate sections of the boat, means for fasting the peripheral edges of said canopy portions to the boat, a pair of flaps in said intermediate portion extending from the center portion of said canopy to the edge of a side thereof, means for detachably attaching said flaps along their side edges, said flaps being disposed side-by-side but separated to leave a substantial area of canopy therebetween, whereby when said flaps are detached along their sides and bottom they may be swung over the opposite side of said canopy leaving open compartments from which hunters may observe and hunt Wildfowl and the canopy between such open compartments being permanently closed and of sufiicient area to conceal hunting equipment and to break the continuity of the openings, the struts at the intermediate section of the boat being located to support said permanently closed portion of said canopy toward the lateral edges thereof and serving as guards for preventing a hunter located in one compartment from training his gun, while tracking Wildfowl, on his companion hunter in the adjacent compartment, and windows mounted on either side of said canopy to permit observation from within the boat while said flaps are in their lowered position.

2. The device according to claim 1 and further comprising a strip of material extending substantially around said portions of the canopy and attached thereto at pre determined intervals, the lengths between said intervals adapted to carry natural camouflaging means such as foliage or the like.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 583,033 Danz May 25, 1897 739,389 Castle Sept. 22, 1903 1,177,625 Hopper Apr. 4, 1916 2,427,772 Parish Sept. 23, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 207,382, GreatBritain Nov. 29, 1923 

